Cattle Terminology: Bulls, Springers, Freemartins Cattle Terminology: Bulls, Springers, Freemartins In general, the same words are used in different parts of the world... Published on: Dec 31, 2016 Permalink In general, the same words are used in different parts of the world but with minor differences in the definitions. The terminology described here contrasts the differences in definition between the United Kingdom and other British influenced parts of world such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United States. An intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male is called a bull. A wild, young, unmarked bull is known as a micky in Australia. An unbranded bovine of either sex is called a maverick in the USA and Canada. An adult female that has had a calf (or two, depending on regional usage) is a cow. A young female before she has had a calf of her own and is under three years of age is called a heifer. A young female that has had only one calf is occasionally called a first-calf heifer.

Young cattle of both sexes are called calves until they are weaned, then weaners until they are a year old in some areas; in other areas, particularly with male beef cattle, they may be known as feeder-calves or simply feeders. After that, they are referred to as yearlings or stirks if between one and two years of age. A castrated male is called a steer in the United States; older steers are often called bullocks in other parts of the world but in North America this term refers to a young bull. Piker bullocks are micky bulls that were caught, castrated and then later lost. In Australia, the term "Japanese ox" is used for grain fed steers in the weight range of 500 to 650 kg that are destined for the Japanese meat trade. In North America, draft cattle under four years old are called working steers. Improper or late castration on a bull results in it becoming a coarse steer known as a stag in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In some countries an incompletely castrated male is known also as a rig.

A castrated male (occasionally a female or in some areas a bull) kept for draft purposes is called an ox (plural oxen); "ox" may also be used to refer to some carcase products from any adult cattle, such as ox-hide, ox-blood or ox-liver. A springer is a cow or heifer close to calving. In all cattle species, a female that is the twin of a bull usually becomes an infertile partial intersex, and is a freemartin. Neat (horned oxen, from which neatsfoot oil is derived), beef (young ox) and beefing (young animal fit for slaughtering) are obsolete terms, although poll, pollard or polled cattle are still terms in use for naturally hornless animals, or in some areas also for those that have been disbudded. Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the older term beef (plural beeves) is still used to refer to an animal of either gender. Some Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and British people use the term beast, especially for single animals when the gender is unknown.

Cattle of certain breeds bred specifically for milk production are called milking or dairy cattle; a cow kept to provide milk for one family may be called a house cow or milker. The adjective applying to cattle in general is usually bovine. The terms "bull", "cow" and "calf" are also used by extension to denote the gender or age of other large animals, including whales, hippopotamuses, camels, elk and elephants Related Stories: Cattle: Cooking Wiki Jump to: navigation , search A Japanese wagyu bull Cattle, colloquially referred to as cows, are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal ), dairy products ( milk ), leather and as draft animals (pulling carts, ploughs and the like). In some countries, such as India, they are honoured in religious ceremonies and revered. It is estimated that there are 1.3 billion cattle in the world today. Terminology of cattle In general, the same words are used in different parts of the world but with minor differences in the definitions.

The terminology described here contrasts the differences in definition between the United States and other British influenced parts of world such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. An intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male is called a bull. A wild, young, unmarked bull is known as a mickie in Australia. An unbranded bovine of either gender is called a maverick in the USA and Canada. An adult female who has had one or two calves (depending on regional usage) is called a cow. A young female before she has had a calf of her own is called a heifer (pronounced /ˈhɛfɚ/, "heffer"). A young female that has had only one calf is occasionally called a first-calf heifer. Young cattle of both sexes are called calves until they are weaned, then weaners until they are a year old in some areas, in other areas, particularly with male beef cattle, they may be known as feeder-calves or simply feeders. After that, they are referred to as yearlings or stirks if between one and two years of age.

A castrated male is called a steer in the United States, and older steers are often called a bullock in other parts of the world; although in North America this term refers to a young bull. Piker bullocks are mickie bulls that were caught, castrated and then later lost. In Australia, the term "Japanese ox" is used for grain fed steers in the weight range of 500 to 650 kg that are destined for the Japanese meat trade. In North America, draft cattle under four years old are called working steers. Improper or late castration on a bull results in it becoming a coarse steer known as a stag in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. In some countries an incompletely castrated male is known also as a rig. A castrated male (occasionally a female or in some areas a bull) kept for draft purposes or for food is called an ox (plural oxen). In all cattle species, a female who is the twin of a bull usually becomes an infertile partial intersex, and is a freemartin.

* Neat (horned oxen, from which neatsfoot oil is derived), beef (young ox) and beefing (young animal fit for slaughtering) are obsolete terms, although poll or polled cattle is still a term in use for naturally hornless animals, or in some areas cattle that have been disbudded. Cattle raised for human consumption are called beef cattle. Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the older term beef (plural beeves) is still used to refer to an animal of either gender. Some Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and Scottish farmers use the term beast, especially when the gender is unknown. Cows of certain breeds that are kept for the milk they give are called dairy cows. How to Tell the Difference Between Bulls, Cows, Steers and Heifers Community Q&A There are many people worldwide who think they know what cattle look like but cannot properly tell the difference between a cow, bull, steer or heifer. Most of these people have not been taught how to distinguish between the four. This step-by-step article is intended to teach anyone how to properly distinguish between these different types of cattle. Steps 1 Learn the relevant definitions.

These are: Cow : a mature female bovine that has given birth to at least one or two calves. Colloquially, the term "cow" is also in reference to the Bos primigenius species of domestic cattle, regardless of age, gender, breed or type. However for most people who work with or raise cattle, this term is not used in the same reference as previously noted. Bull: a mature, intact (testicles present and not removed) male bovine used for breeding purposes. Steer: a male bovine (or bull) that has been castrated before reaching sexual maturity and is primarily used for beef. Stag: a male bovine (or bull) that has been castrated after or upon reaching sexual maturity and is primarily used for beef, but can and is also often used as a " gomer bull " for detecting cows and heifers in heat . Heifer: a female bovine (often immature, but beyond the "calf" stage) less than 1 to 2 years of age that has never calved. Such females, if they've never calved beyond two years of age may also be called heiferettes.

Bred Heifer : a female bovine that is pregnant with her first calf. First-calf Heifer or First-calver: a female bovine that has given birth to her first calf, and is often around 24 to 36 months of age, depending on the breed and when she was first bred. Ox (plural: Oxen): a bovine that is trained for draft work (pulling carts, wagons, plows, etc.)This is a term that primarily refers to a male bovine that has been castrated after maturity. However, an ox can also be female bovine (cow or heifer) or even a bull that has been trained for the same purpose. In the Biblical times, an ox was a general term used, just like with the term "cows," to a domesticated bovine regardless of age, gender, breed, type, or draft purposes. Calf (plural: Calves): an immature bovine (male and female) that is reliant on milk from its dam or from a bottle in order to survive and grow. A calf is known as such from birth to around 10 months of age.

Bull calf: an immature intact male bovine (since all males are born with testes) that is reliant on milk from his dam or a bottle for growth and survival. Steer calf: an immature male bovine that has been castrated a few days to a couple months after birth, and is reliant on milk from his dam or a bottle for growth and survival. Heifer calf: an immature female bovine that is reliant on milk from her dam or a bottle for growth and survival. Freemartin: an infertile or sterile heifer or heifer calf. Such infertility is a result of being maternally twinned with a bull calf and whose placental tissues were shared in the womb. During the first trimester, reproductive organs start to form and sexual hormones begin to be produced in the fetus. When male and female fetal calves are twinned together, the testosterone produced by the male inhibits estrogen production in the female. This results in abnormal, underdeveloped or hermaphroditic reproductive organs in the female fetus. This is not so for the male. Freemartins are sometimes referred to as "hermaphrodites" if they are born with reproductive organs of both genders.

As a result, this type of freemartins tend to develop secondary male sexual characteristics (muscular crest over neck, wide forehead, etc.) upon reaching puberty. Cattle: general plural term for more than one bovine Cattlebeast/bovine/animal: a singular term for a bovine whose gender cannot be determined, particularly when viewed at a distance. Most people like to refer to a bovine of unknown (or "unknown") gender as a "cow," simply because it is a much more well-known and popular term to use than "bovine" or "cattle beast." This, however, is often not the case around experienced cattlemen and cattle women or "ranchers" (as some like to call them) who never use the term "cow" when referring to a bovine that is anything but a cow. "Animal," "critter," "creature," or any other term, coarse or not, are most often used over the colloquial word "cow." ! 2 Understand the myths surrounding the ability of being able to distinguish the sex or gender of a bovine. Only bulls are horned; cows are polled: This is a myth.

The reality is that both sexes (or genders) can be horned and/or polled. If you are relying on whether a bovine is horned or not as an indication of the sex (male or female) or gender of the animal, please remember that this is the least reliable means of telling whether that bovine is either a cow or a bull. The best way to tell if a cow is a cow and a bull is a bull is to look between the hind legs for presence of an udder or a scrotum, respectively. Bulls are solid coloured (often brown) individuals, whereas cows are only black and white: This is also a myth. Bulls are not primarily solid coloured, nor are cows primarily black and white. Quite frankly, the colouration can be, and very often is ,vice versa: Purebred Holstein , Holstein-Freisian and Freisian bulls are always black and white just like their female counterparts, and many cows, both dairy (such as with Jersey , Brown Swiss , Guernsey cows) and beef (including Gelbvieh , Limousin , Red Angus , Red Brangus , Santa Gertrudis and fullblood Simmental cows) are predominantly brown or red.

There are quite a number of breeds in the world that have black and white bulls and cows: the Holstein breed is just one of them, and happens to be the most popular and well-known of these breeds. The same goes for solid-brown or red cattle: Many commercial and hybrid beef cattle are often found to be solid red or brown. As a matter of fact, bulls and cows (not to mention steers, calves and heifers) can be any colour except pink, purple, green and blue. They can be white, brown, black, yellow, orange, red, grey, and any variation (often with white) of any of these colours, including roan, speckled, patchy, pointed, white-faced, dorsal-striped or white-tailed. Belgian Blue cattle, for example, are not named because they are truly blue, but because they are often a blue-roan colouration that makes them appear smokey-blue due to the mix of black and white hairs in the hair coat of this breed. 3 Be aware of the anatomical and physiological differences between each type of bovine.

These differences are as follows: Cows: The best way to tell if a bovine or cattle-beast is indeed a cow is to look between the hind legs and see if an udder is present. An udder is a pink bag-like organ that has four teats (cylindrical "knobs" that hang down from the udder) that generates milk for a young calf to drink. Cows you will see may have a calf at their side, except for most dairy cows or beef cows that have just come off from being weaned from their calves. Cows typically are smooth from the head all the way down to the tailhead, with no shoulder crests (like bulls have) and not as much muscling around the shoulders and hips like bulls do. Bos indicus cows (those that have the loose skin and long floppy ears) have a hump on their shoulders, but it is much less defined than that in bulls of the same species of bovine. If you look under the tail (if you can't you can see it when the tail is swishing flies away or for some reason or other, is held to the side), you will see a slit with a prepuce hanging down from it.

This is where the vulva is located, the area where cows (and heifers) urinate from, accept the penis of bulls to be bred, and where their calves are born from. All cows have this, and it is a bit more defined and larger in cows than in heifers. Vulvae are located below the anus. Bulls: Bulls are typically massive beasts. When they are among the cowherd, it's pretty easy to pick out the bull among the herd because of his larger size and masculinity in comparison to the more feminine-looking cows or heifers that he is with. Not all bulls have horns. The only way you are really going to tell if it's a bull or not is to look to see if there is a large football-shaped sac hanging down between his hind legs. This is relatively easy to see when you are getting a side-view of him (except when the hind leg nearest to you is shifted forward and not back), when you're behind him, and when he's walking. They also have a sheath or hairy prepuce on their underline (right in the middle of the belly and parallel to the ground; this area is called the navel) where their penis is housed.

Most sheaths are more defined in bulls than in steers, and a lot of bulls may have a pink fleshy protrusion being exposed from the sheath. That is the end of their penis. Cows and heifers do not have this sheath; some may have some loose skin hanging from the same area, but others will not have this. Bulls typically have a large, very muscular crest over their necks or shoulders (with Bos taurus cattle like Angus , Simmental , or Texas Longhorn , it is found on the neck), and are typically very muscular on their shoulders, necks and their hind quarters than cows are. Most will have a large, blocky appearance, with their front and hind legs wider set (held farther apart) than cows, due to the muscling in the chest and shoulders. In the Bos indicus breeds, bulls typically have a sphere-shaped hump over their shoulders, much more defined and pronounced in bulls than in cows. Steers: Steers have similar conformational qualities as bulls do, except that they lack that testicular sac between their legs and their navel or sheath is much less defined.

However, steers still retain the hair hanging down from the middle of their belly, and this is, like bulls, where their penis is housed and where they urinate from. This little hair is pretty much the only way to tell if this animal you are looking at is a steer. Steers typically appear more feminine than bulls do, lacking the characteristic muscular hump and depth over the neck and shoulders. Sometimes, when steers and heifers are living together, the only way to tell if the animal you are looking at is a steer is that the vulva, present only in heifers and cows, is absent. If there's nothing else under the tail except the anus, and said animal has no testes, then it's a steer. Steers are not born as steers, they are born as bull calves and are made into steers by the process of castration. Heifers: These are typically young females that a) were born as females (often called heifer calves) and b) retain female characteristics like cows do.

Heifers are typically younger than cows, and often, to an experienced cattle person, a heifer or a first-calf heifer can be easily distinguished by noticing the youth of the animal and her size in relation to older more mature cows. These types of cattle are usually ones that are still growing past when they have their first calf, and reach full maturity by the time they are 3 or 4 years of age. Heifers have no sac between their legs, nor do they have the sheath and little hair hanging down typical of bulls and steers. They have almost no udder, just little teats that are difficult to see between the back legs except if you are kneeling down close beside her. They have a vulva underneath the tail (which is below the anus), but it is smaller and a little less defined than in mature cows. The udder and vulva increase in size both when the heifer, that has been bred, is about to calve. Even then, the udder is typically smaller in heifers than in cows. 4 Go visit a farm or ranch to learn the anatomical differences as described above.

This will help you learn to know what to look for and how to properly distinguish the difference between bulls, cows, steers and heifers. When walking along the fence or with the cattle, be calm and quiet. Don't get excited, tense or fearful, around them, and if they come up to you, don't be alarmed as they are naturally curious animals. If you find you are getting tense or afraid , walk out of the pasture or corral to where they can't go, 5 and try to relax. Beware of those that paw the earth at you, throw their heads around at you, approach you aggressively, growl at you, or wrinkle their nose at you. But those that back away from you or simply like to follow you are those that a) respect your space and accept you as The Boss, and b) just like human companionship and think you have treats for them, respectively. If you cannot visit a farm or ranch, find pictures on the Internet to help you learn the differences. You can do an image search through your favorite search engine, or look at pictures posted by other cattlemen and -women that frequent various public cattle or livestock forums, such as CattleToday.com or Backyardherds.com .

Community Q&A Can I use a freemartin calf as a means of detecting heat? If so, should I treat it with hormones? wikiHow Contributor Not a freemartin calf, though a heifer may be a decent idea. There's no real need to treat with hormones (but talk to your veterinarian to see what they say), because she will still be able to detect heat and ride those in heat like any female bovine with no bull present will. Gomer bulls (bulls made sterile) have a halter with a chalk chin ball on to mark cows and heifers that are in heat, so you can use that on the freemartin. If the freemartin is a legitimate hermaphrodite, that's an even greater use for heat detection. A bull is casterated, but one testicle is missed. Can he still breed a cow? wikiHow Contributor Yes, he can unless there was some sort of obstruction. Have the bull checked out by a vet, who may also be able to advise on whether or not the castration should be completed under general anesthetic or bred from (whatever is most suitable to your farm needs). Why do bulls grows faster than steer? wikiHow Contributor Testosterone.

Testosterone acts as the secondary sex hormone that helps bulls build muscle and increase in frame. Steers do not have testes for this, so they will grow slower and put more fat on. Why do some cattle have a nose ring? wikiHow Contributor Its easier to control the cow. For example, if you have to bring it in for a checkup, you simply get a rope and feed it through the nose ring. What do you call a long hair steer? wikiHow Contributor If this question (or a similar one) is answered twice in this section, please click here to let us know. Tips Always remember to look between the legs, under the tail or at the underbelly if you are not sure whether an animal is a cow, a bull, a heifer or a steer. Often it's better to study pictures that are posted in a book, a magazine or online than going out to a farm or ranch to look at someone's cattle. That way you have a better chance to study the photo as long as you want, and don't have to chase or follow an animal around that gets tired of you staring at it all day.

A rule of thumb to remember is that female cattle are cows and heifers, and male cattle are bulls and steers. Warnings Take note that heifers and steers can be difficult to tell apart, especially if they are put together in the same corral or pasture. Be very careful around bulls. Bulls are typically dangerous animals, especially if teased or provoked, or if they sense you are a danger to their cow herd. Often it is best to view a bull on the other side the fence or in your vehicle if the farm you are seeing is beside a road. Also be careful around cows and calves. Cows get quite protective of their calves, especially when it's towards a person they're not familiar with (like you), and will charge if you come too close to their babies. And yes, there are a lot of cows that have horns too, so watch out for them. Updated: Views: 796,727 "I have recently moved to northern Vermont in "Dairy and Cattle Country," and while taking evening walks with my family, we stop to look at the cows as they walk up to the fence or are standing out in the field.

On our most recent walk, we noticed that the black and white spotted cows had no visible udders, so we said they must be bulls. They also had no distinguishing genitalia, so when we got home, I looked up the differences in cows. I found this to be the best article. "..." more - Mark Adams "Very helpful - 3 of us were driving from Houston to Fort Worth and your explanation about all of the terms - cows, bulls, or etc. was great. Thanks."..." more - Len Chaikind Thanks. I am better informed about the anatomical differences among cattles. - Victor Olatunji Excellent article with very well-thought-out answers. Clear and concise. - Kevin Graiani It helped me with my agricultural assignment for school. - Naiomi Persaud I now know how to select cows and bulls from a group. - Meema Rudees Cow | WikiCheese | Fandom powered by Wikia Main article: Bovini Cattle were originally identified as three separate species.

These were Bos taurus, the European or "taurine" cattle (including similar types from Africa and Asia); Bos indicus, the zebu ; and the extinct Bos primigenius, the aurochs . The aurochs is ancestral to both zebu and taurine cattle. Recently these three have increasingly been grouped as one species, with Bos primigenius taurus, Bos primigenius indicus and Bos primigenius primigenius as the subspecies. [4 ] [1 ] [2 ] Zubron , a cross between Wisent and cattle.Complicating the matter is the ability of cattle to interbreed with other closely related species. Hybrid individuals and even breeds exist, not only between taurine cattle and zebu (including the sanga cattle breeds, Bos taurus africanus) but also between one or both of these and some other members of the genus Bos : yak (called a dzo or "yattle" [5 ]), banteng and gaur . Hybrids (such as the beefalo breed) can also occur between taurine cattle and either species of bison , which some authors consider to be in the genus Bos as well.

[6 ] The hybrid origin of some types may not be obvious – for example, genetic testing of the Dwarf Lulu breed, the only taurine-type cattle in Nepal, found them to be a mix of taurine cattle, zebu and yak. [7 ] Cattle cannot successfully be hybridized with more distantly related bovines such as water buffalo or African buffalo . The aurochs originally ranged throughout Europe, North Africa , and much of Asia. In historical times its range became restricted to Europe, and the last known individual died in Masovia , Poland , in about 1627. [8 ] Breeders have attempted to recreate cattle of similar appearance to aurochs by crossing traditional types of domesticated cattle, creating the Heck cattle breed. Word origin Edit Cattle did not originate as the term for bovine animals. It was borrowed from Old French catel, itself from Latin caput, head, and originally meant movable personal property , especially livestock of any kind, as opposed to real property (the land, which also included wild or small free-roaming animals such as chickens — they were sold as part of the land).

[9 ] The word is closely related to " chattel " (a unit of personal property) and " capital " in the economic sense. [10 ] [11 ] The term replaced earlier Old English feoh "cattle, property" (cf. German : Vieh, Gothic : faihu). The word cow came via Anglo-Saxon cū (plural cȳ), from Common Indo-European gʷōus ( genitive gʷowes) = "a bovine animal", compare Persian Gâv, Sanskrit go, Welsh buwch.[ citation needed ] The genitive plural of "cū" is "cȳna", which gave the now archaic English plural, and Scots plural, of "kine". In older English sources such as the King James Version of the Bible , "cattle" refers to livestock, as opposed to "deer" which refers to wildlife. "Wild cattle" may refer to feral cattle or to undomesticated species of the genus Bos .

Today, when used without any other qualifier, the modern meaning of "cattle" is usually restricted to domesticated bovines.[ citation needed ] Terminology Edit [7 ] [8 ]A herd of Cattle Cattle can only be used in the plural and not in the singular : it is a plurale tantum . [23 ] Thus one may refer to "three cattle" or "some cattle", but not "one cattle". There is no universally used singular form in modern English of "cattle", other than the sex- and age-specific terms such as cow, bull, steer and heifer. Historically, "ox" was a non-gender-specific term for adult cattle, but generally this is now used only for draft cattle , especially adult castrated males. The term is also incorporated into the names of other species such as the musk ox and "grunting ox" ( yak ), and is used in some areas to describe certain cattle products such as ox-hide and ox-tail . [24 ] [9 ] [10 ]A Brahman calf"Cow" is in general use as a singular for the collective "cattle", despite the objections by those who insist it to be a female-specific term.

Although the phrase "that cow is a bull" is absurd from a lexicographic standpoint, the word "cow" is easy to use when a singular is needed and the sex is unknown or irrelevant - when "there is a cow in the road", for example. Further, any herd of fully mature cattle in or near a pasture is statistically likely to consist mostly of cows, so the term is probably accurate even in the restrictive sense. Other than the few bulls needed for breeding, the vast majority of male cattle are castrated as calves and slaughtered for meat before the age of three years. Thus, in a pastured herd, any calves or herd bulls usually are clearly distinguishable from the cows due to distinctively different sizes and clear anatomical differences. Merriam-Webster, a U.S. dictionary, recognizes the non-sex-specific use of "cow" as an alternate definition, [25 ] whereas Collins, a UK dictionary, does not. [26 ] Colloquially , more general non- specific terms may denote cattle when a singular form is needed. Australian , New Zealand and British farmers use the term "beast" or "cattle beast". "Bovine" is also used in Britain .

The term "critter" is common in the western United States and Canada , particularly when referring to young cattle. [27 ] In some areas of the American South (particularly the Appalachian region), where both dairy and beef cattle are present, an individual animal was once called a "beef critter", though that term is becoming archaic . Other terminology A cow's moo ---- Problems listening to this file? See media help . Cattle raised for human consumption are called " beef cattle ". Within the beef cattle industry in parts of the United States, the term "beef" (plural "beeves") is still used in its archaic sense to refer to an animal of either gender. Cows of certain breeds that are kept for the milk they give are called " dairy cows " or "milking cows" (formerly "milch cows"). Most young male offspring of dairy cows are sold for veal , and may be referred to as veal calves. The term "dogies" is used to describe orphaned calves in the context of ranch work in the American west , as in "Keep them dogies moving". [28 ] In some places, a cow kept to provide milk for one family is called a "house cow".

Other obsolete terms for cattle include "neat" (this use survives in " neatsfoot oil ", extracted from the feet and legs of cattle), and "beefing" (young animal fit for slaughter ). An onomatopoeic term for one of the commonest sounds made by cattle is "moo", and this sound is also called lowing. There are a number of other sounds made by cattle, including calves bawling, and bulls bellowing. The bullroarer makes a sound similar to a territorial call made by bulls.[ citation needed ] Anatomy Edit Cattle have one stomach with four compartments. They are the rumen , reticulum , omasum , and abomasum , with the rumen being the largest compartment. The reticulum, the smallest compartment, is known as the "honeycomb". Cattle sometimes consume metal objects which are deposited in the reticulum and irritation from the metal objects causes hardware disease . The omasum's main function is to absorb water and nutrients from the digestible feed. The omasum is known as the "many plies". The abomasum is like the human stomach; this is why it is known as the "true stomach".

[11 ] [12 ] Dairy farming and the milking of cattle - once performed largely by hand, but now usually replaced by machine – exploits the cow's ruminant biology.Cattle are ruminants , meaning that they have a digestive system that allows use of otherwise indigestible foods by regurgitating and rechewing them as "cud". The cud is then reswallowed and further digested by specialised microorganisms in the rumen . These microbes are primarily responsible for decomposing cellulose and other carbohydrates into volatile fatty acids that cattle use as their primary metabolic fuel. The microbes inside the rumen are also able to synthesize amino acids from non-protein nitrogenous sources, such as urea and ammonia . As these microbes reproduce in the rumen, older generations die and their carcasses continue on through the digestive tract. These carcasses are then partially digested by the cattle, allowing them to gain a high quality protein source. These features allow cattle to thrive on grasses and other vegetation . The gestation period for a cow is nine months. A newborn calf weighs 25 to 45 kilograms (55 to 99 lb).

The world record for the heaviest bull was 1,740 kilograms (3,840 lb), a Chianina named Donetto, when he was exhibited at the Arezzo show in 1955. [29 ] The heaviest steer was eight year old ‘Old Ben’, a Shorthorn / Hereford cross weighing in at 2,140 kilograms (4,720 lb) in 1910. [30 ] Steers are generally killed before reaching 750 kilograms (1,650 lb). Breeding stock usually live to about 15 years (occasionally as much as 25 years). The oldest recorded cow, Big Bertha , died at the age of 48 in 1993. A common misconception about cattle (particularly bulls) is that they are enraged by the color red (something provocative is often said to be "like a red flag to a bull"). This is incorrect, as cattle are red-green color-blind . [31 ] [32 ] The myth arose from the use of red capes in the sport of bullfighting ; in fact, two different capes are used.

The capote is a large, flowing cape that is magenta and yellow. The more famous muleta is the smaller, red cape, used exclusively for the final, fatal segment of the fight. It is not the color of the cape that angers the bull, but rather the movement of the fabric that irritates the bull and incites it to charge. Having two kinds of color receptors in the cone cells in their retinas , cattle are dichromatic , as are most other non-primate land mammals. [33 ] [34 ] A cow's udder contains 2 pairs of mammary glands . Cattle genome Edit Further information: Bovine genome In the April 24, 2009 edition of the journal Science, it was reported that a team of researchers led by the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Agriculture has mapped the bovine genome . [35 ] The scientists found that cattle have approximately 22,000 genes, and 80 percent of their genes are shared with humans, and they have approximately 1,000 genes they share with dogs and rodents, but are not found in humans.

Using this bovine "HapMap", researchers can track the differences between the breeds that affect the quality of meat and milk yields. [36 ] Domestication and husbandry Edit [13 ] [14 ] Texas Longhorns are a U.S. breedCattle occupy a unique role in human history , domesticated since at least the early Neolithic . They are raised for meat ( beef cattle ), dairy products and hides . They are also used as draft animals and in certain sports . Some consider cattle the oldest form of wealth, and cattle raiding consequently one of the earliest forms of theft. [15 ] [16 ]A Hereford being inspected for ticks ; cattle are often restrained or confined in Cattle crushes when given medical attention. [17 ] [18 ]This young animal has a nose ring to prevent it from suckling, which is usually to assist in weaning .Cattle are often raised by allowing herds to graze on the grasses of large tracts of rangeland . Raising cattle in this manner allows the use of land that might be unsuitable for growing crops. The most common interactions with cattle involve daily feeding , cleaning and milking .

Many routine husbandry practices involve ear tagging , dehorning , loading, medical operations , vaccinations and hoof care, as well as training for agricultural shows and preparations. There are also some cultural differences in working with cattle- the cattle husbandry of Fulani men rests on behavioural techniques , whereas in Europe cattle are controlled primarily by physical means like fences . [37 ] Breeders use cattle husbandry to reduce M. bovis infection susceptibility by selective breeding and maintaining herd health to avoid concurrent disease. [38 ] Cattle are farmed for beef, veal, dairy, leather and they are less commonly used for conservation grazing , simply to maintain grassland for wildlife – for example, in Epping Forest , England. They are often used in some of the most wild places for livestock. Depending on the breed, cattle can survive on hill grazing, heaths, marshes, moors and semi desert. Modern cows are more commercial than older breeds and, having become more specialized, are less versatile. For this reason many smaller farmers still favor old breeds, like the dairy breed of cattle Jersey .

In Portugal , Spain , Southern France and some Latin American countries, bulls are used in the activity of bullfighting ; a similar activity, Jallikattu , is seen in South India ; in many other countries this is illegal. Other activities such as bull riding are seen as part of a rodeo , especially in North America. Bull-leaping , a central ritual in Bronze Age Minoan culture (see Bull (mythology) ), still exists in southwestern France . In modern times, cattle are also entered into agricultural competitions . These competitions can involve live cattle or cattle carcases in hoof and hook events. In terms of food intake by humans, consumption of cattle is less efficient than of grain or vegetables with regard to land use , and hence cattle grazing consumes more area than such other agricultural production when raised on grains. [39 ] Nonetheless, cattle and other forms of domesticated animals can sometimes help to use plant resources in areas not easily amenable to other forms of agriculture . Sleep Further information: Sleep (non-human) The average sleep time of a domestic cow is said to be only 4 hours a day.

[40 ] Use as food Main article: Beef The meat of adult cattle is known as beef , and that of calves is veal . Other parts of cattle are also used as food products, including blood , liver , kidney , heart and oxtail . Economy Edit Holstein cattle are the primary dairy breed, bred for high milk production.Cattle today are the basis of a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide. The international trade in beef for 2000 was over $30 billion and represented only 23 percent of world beef production. (Clay 2004). The production of milk , which is also made into cheese , butter , yogurt , and other dairy products, is comparable in economic size to beef production and provides an important part of the food supply for many of the world's people. Cattle hides, used for leather to make shoes , couches and clothing , are another widespread product. Cattle remain broadly used as draft animals in many developing countries , such as India .

Environmental impact Edit Cattle — especially when kept on enormous feedlots such as this one — have been named as a contributing factor in the rise in greenhouse gas emissions.A 400-page United Nations report from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) states that the livestock sector is "responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions". The production of cattle to feed and clothe humans stresses ecosystems around the world, and is assessed to be one of the top three environmental problems in the world on a local to global scale. The report, entitled Livestock's Long Shadow, also surveys the environmental damage from sheep , chickens , pigs and goats . But in almost every case, the world's 1.5 billion cattle are cited as the greatest adverse impact with respect to climate change as well as species extinction . The report concludes that, unless changes are made, the massive damage reckoned to be due to livestock may more than double by 2050, as demand for meat increases. One of the cited changes suggests that intensification of the livestock industry may be suggested, since intensification leads to less land for a given level of production.

[42 ] Some microbes respire in the cattle gut by an anaerobic process known as methanogenesis (producing the gas methane ). Cattle emit a large volume of methane , 95% of it through burping (eructation), not flatulence . [43 ] As the carbon in the methane comes from the digestion of vegetation produced by photosynthesis , its release into the air by this process would normally be considered harmless, because there is no net increase in carbon in the atmosphere — it is removed as carbon dioxide from the air by photosynthesis and returned to it as methane.[ citation needed ] Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, having a warming effect 23 to 50 times greater, and according to Takahashi and Young "even a small increase in methane concentration in the atmosphere exerts a potentially significant contribution to global warming". [45 ] Further analysis of the methane gas produced by livestock as a contributor to the increase in greenhouse gases is provided by Weart. [46 ] Research is underway on methods of reducing this source of methane, by the use of dietary supplements , or treatments to reduce the proportion of methanogenetic microbes, perhaps by vaccination .

[47 ] [48 ] In 2010, a diet was proposed to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases by cattle. The diet was conceived by Alexander Hristov of the Pennstate University. [49 ] Cattle are fed a concentrated high-corn diet which produces rapid weight gain, but this has side effects which include increased acidity in the digestive system. When improperly handled, manure and other byproducts of concentrated agriculture also have environmental consequences. [50 ] Grazing by cattle at low intensities can create a favourable environment for native herbs and forbs ; however, in most world regions cattle are reducing biodiversity due to overgrazing driven by food demands by an expanding human population . [51 ]

Question: In most parts of the world castrated bulls are called bullocks what are they called in USA?
Answer: STEERS